accelerator

[ak-sel-uh-rey-ter]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR accelerator ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that accelerates.

Automotive. a device, usually operated by the foot, for controlling the speed of an engine.

British. any two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle, as a motorcycle or motor scooter.

Photography. a chemical, usually an alkali, added to a developer to increase the rate of development.

Also called accelerant. Chemistry. any substance that increases the speed of a chemical change, as one that increases the rate of vulcanization of rubber or that hastens the setting of concrete, mortar, plaster, or the like.

Anatomy, Physiology. any muscle, nerve, or activating substance that quickens a movement.

Also called atom smasher, particle accelerator. Physics. an electrostatic or electromagnetic device, as a cyclotron, that produces high-energy particles and focuses them on a target.

Economics. acceleration coefficient.

Nearby words

Origin of accelerator

1605–15; 1930–35 for def 7; accelerate + -or²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for accelerator

He glanced over at Praed's plane, spun the small helicopter props over and pushed down the accelerator.
Astounding Stories, February, 1931|Various
As the last lock opened he threw the accelerator all the way forward and felt the ship leap ahead.
Daughters of Doom|Herbert B. Livingston
A midget auto came skidding down the pirate ship's ramp, its driver standing on the accelerator.
This One Problem|M. C. Pease
He jammed his own accelerator down to the floor and plunged on.
Operation Terror|William Fitzgerald Jenkins

"Say not so," says Barry, steppin' on the accelerator careless.
Torchy and Vee|Sewell Ford

British Dictionary definitions for accelerator

accelerator

noun

a device for increasing speed, esp a pedal for controlling the fuel intake in a motor vehicle; throttle

Also called (not in technical usage): atom smasher physics a machine for increasing the kinetic energy of subatomic particles or atomic nuclei and focusing them on a target

chem a substance that increases the speed of a chemical reaction, esp one that increases the rate of vulcanization of rubber, the rate of development in photography, the rate of setting of synthetic resins, or the rate of setting of concrete; catalyst

economics (in an economy) the relationship between the rate of change in output or sales and the consequent change in the level of investment

anatomy a muscle or nerve that increases the rate of a function

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for accelerator

accelerator

1610s, from Latin accelerator, agent noun from accelerare (see accelerate). Motor vehicle sense is from 1900.

Medicine definitions for accelerator

accelerator

[ăk-sĕl′ə-rā′tər]

n.

One that increases rapidity of action or function.

A nerve, muscle, or substance that quickens movement or response.

A catalyst.